@tardis I am very probably somewhere on the spectrum, though never professionally diagnosed. I am very high-functioning and have over many years found ways to cope with how absolutely fuckin' weird most people are. (Like why would you say one thing but do another??? What's that even about? You DON'T obsess about Doctor Who?? What?)

And yes, ironically I find that in this mode, folks on the spectrum, who are often painted with a broad brush that they have trouble with empathy, actually experience MORE empathy for others than most people. I think this characterization about people on the spectrum is wrong and lacks nuance: just because we may find it difficult to get inside another person's head, that doesn't AT ALL mean that we don't care what happens to them.

@tardis I haven't experienced that so much, but sometimes when I am mentally tired or sleep deprived, certainly. I suspect I'm sort of just barely on the spectrum though, and my experiences are not representative of the vast sea of possibilities with neurodivergence.

The upside, of course, is being able to focus on incredibly complex, difficult problems that scare other people away. We're wired up differently, not wrongly.